If you haven't read it yet, Last Call is a New Adult, Romantic Suspense that tells the story of Savannah as she stumbles her way through blind dates, a sexy bartender, and a broken heart from her past.

All while dealing with her first love marrying her cousin and something sinister that threatens not only her happily ever after, but her life.

**Also, there is a sequel but this is not a cliffhanger**

*First Chapter Excerpt*

Friday
- April 12, 2013

The Invitation

It all started with a 6x9-inch cream
envelope and some swirling calligraphy.

I stepped into the small house I shared
with my two roommates to find the offending envelope propped up against a glass
vase on our dining table. Next to the envelope was a bright yellow sticky note
with my roommate Sara’s chicken scratch:

Wine is chilling and dinner is on us <3

Indication #1 that this envelope was bad
news.

Indication #2? The three missed calls and
voicemails from my mother sitting on my phone. She never called me during my
school hours, and yet today she had tried, and failed, to reach me three times.
When she didn’t catch me by voice, she finally sent a quick text:

Mom:
Darling, call me on your way home. Everything is fine here. I have wonderful
news from Mary Anne to share.

My mother never texted me. Typically, she
considered texting beneath her. This text was a warning sign.

Indication #3 was the name Mary Anne.

Then finally, as I walked towards the
envelope that was so beautifully addressed to Ms. Savannah R. Guthry and
flipped it over, I found indication #4. The proudly displayed return address
along the back of the sealed envelope. It was a dead giveaway as to whom this
event was for. As if I hadn’t connected the dots already.

First things first. I dropped the envelope
back on the table, walked slowly down the long hall into my room, and stripped
out of my clothes. My mood instantly improved as I slipped on my favorite comfy
outfit and piled my dark hair into a messy bun on top of my head. Phone charger
in tow, I walked back to the front of the house where I plugged in my phone,
grabbed a glass of the aforementioned wine, and plopped myself into a chair
with the offending envelope.

For a good twenty minutes I just sat there
chewing on my lip and sipping the white wine. Curling my legs under me, I
finally decided to open it.

The heavy paper was sealed with a gold wax “G”
stamped into it and I chuckled to myself. The Guthry family certainly spared no
expense when it came to a wedding of one of their own. Without looking in the
envelope, I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that it contained a wedding
invitation. Slowly I pulled the card out, indulging in one long sip of my wine
before reading the words.

Mr. and
Mrs. Grantham E. Guthry

Request the honor of your presence

At the marriage of their daughter

Mary Anne Guthry

To

Mr. Daniel Edward Livingston, III

On Saturday the Fifteenth of June

Two Thousand and Thirteen

Country Club of Charleston

Charleston, SC

Daniel Edward Livingston, III: the boy with
the crystal blue eyes and windblown blond hair. My heart clenched at the
painful memory. Then, almost as quickly, I felt nothing as I thought of the man
he had become. My gorgeous, Southern, spoiled cousin was marrying my first
love. No big deal. I knew it would happen eventually. I could be happy for
them, couldn’t I? After all, it was four years ago. Four years since Daniel sat
me down to tell me he wanted to “explore his options.” Little did I know his
option was my cousin Mary Anne.

The vibrations of my phone pulled me back
to the present. The display glowed: Mom.
I debated the wisdom of letting her fourth call of the day go to voicemail, and
decided it was best to get it over with. Avoiding Erika Guthry when she wanted
to speak with you was pointless. She could be relentless, and it was best to
deal with her like ripping off a bandage…grit your teeth and get it over with
quickly.

“Hello, Mother.”

“Savannah Rose Guthry, I have been trying
and trying to contact you today! I almost had Daddy contact the authorities.
You’ve given me quite the scare, darling.”

Add hysterics and exaggeration to the list
of qualities my mother possessed.

“Momma, I’m fine. You know I have classes
all day. I just walked in the door a few minutes ago.”

“Well you should have called me back,” she
drawled, the irritation clear in her heavily accented voice. She’d been
inconvenienced. “Sweetheart, I called to tell you about Mary Anne and Daniel.
Have you heard yet?”

“I’m staring at the announcement as we
speak.”

“Oh darling, I’m sorry. I so hoped I would
be able to warn you. Are you alright?” she asked; her voice heavy with
misplaced sorrow. The speed at which her emotions changed could give you
whiplash.

“Mother, it’s been four years. I’m fine.”

“Losing someone like Daniel Livingston does
not simply go away, Savannah. I can’t believe we let him slip through your
fingers and right into Mary Anne’s. Why, I bet Charlene is prancing like a
peacock at the match.”

“I’m sure she is, Momma. Look, I need to
run…”

“Honey, you know Mary Anne barely
graduated, don’t you? Daniel would have done so much better with you. But here
we are; they’re getting married in June and you’re in Tennessee still in
school.” Her voice rose an octave or two as she mournfully complained.

“I’ve really got to run, Mother,” I
interjected before she could whine some more.

“What? Oh darling, your father is calling.
We’re supposed to have dinner with the Alexanders this evening. Oh…” she
gasped. “The most amazing idea just popped into my head! Spencer played golf
with your daddy and Neal today…”

“Sweetheart, Spencer was a doll all those
years ago escorting you to your coming out party after Daniel broke your heart.
Don’t you worry about a thing, Savannah. I’ll handle everything. I’ll call you
in a few days to discuss the details of the pre-wedding events. Love you.”

“Alright, love you…” I heard a click andshe was gone.

With a heavy sigh, I lifted my wine glass
to my lips and was surprised to find it empty. According to the clock on the
wall, Sara and Candace should be back with dinner any minute. Another glass
could wait for them to return. As I carefully took the wedding invitation from
my lap and slipped it back into the envelope, I allowed my mind to wander back
to Spencer Alexander. The history there was way more complicated than my mother
knew, and he didn’t deserve her snooping into his personal life when all he did
was play golf with my father.

Mind made up, I quickly rang my father’s
cell phone, hoping to catch him before he picked my mother up for dinner.

Funny thing was, I knew immediately that my
father was talking about warning me about my mother calling. Whereas my mother
thought I needed warning of the event, as if I was going to have an emotional
meltdown. My father knew it was my mother’s overreacting, melodramatic phone
calls that would put me over the edge.

“It’s alright, I survived. However, Spencer
Alexander may not.”

“Spence? What does he have to do with
anything?”

“What, indeed,” I laughed; filling him in
on Mother’s ‘amazing idea’.

“Leave your mother to me, honey. Will you
be home before the wedding, or are you set on staying in Nashville for the
summer?”

“You know I’m staying here, Daddy.”

“Alright, sweetie. I promised not to
complain. Don’t worry about your mother. I’ll keep her off your case. You have
finals in the next few weeks, don’t you?”

“Yep.”

“Okay then, study hard and let us know how
you do. Let me run before your mother yells at me for being late again.”

“Have fun. Love you.” I laughed as I hung
up the phone, my mood significantly improved merely by speaking with him.

My mother and father were polar opposites
when it came to me. Although I knew they both wanted what was best for me, it
was my father who listened to me about my wants. My mother, on the other hand,
assumed she knew what I wanted and never had a problem making decisions for me.

Muted laughter outside the front door
alerted me to my roommates’ arrival. Hearing the fumbling and rattling of a key
in the lock, I got up to help them in.

Sara let out a curse as I pulled the door
open and she stumbled in. “We’ve got
to get a locksmith to look at this. It sticks.”

“Surprise,” sang Candace, nudging Sara in
and holding up two carry out bags from my favorite local Italian restaurant.